One story is told of a doctor of physic walking into the fields, who in his return met with this spectre, whom he at first accosted civilly, and paid her the courtesy of handing her over a stile.  Observing, however, that she did not move her lips in speaking, or her eyes in looking round, he became suspicious of the condition of his companion, and showed some desire to be rid of her society.  Offended at this, the hag at next stile planted herself upon it, and obstructed his passage.  He got through at length with some difficulty, and not without a sound kick, and an admonition to pay more attention to the next aged gentlewoman whom he met.  “But this,” says John Dunton, “was a petty and inconsiderable prank to what she played in her son’s house and elsewhere.  She would at noonday appear upon the quay of Mynehead, and cry, ‘A boat, a boat, ho! a boat, a boat, ho!’ If any boatmen or seamen were in sight, and did not come, they were sure to be cast away; and if they did come, ’twas all one, they were cast away.  It was equally dangerous to please and displease her.  Her son had several ships sailing between Ireland and England; no sooner did they make land, and come in sight of England, but this ghost would appear in the same garb and likeness as when she was alive, and, standing at the mainmast, would blow with a whistle, and though it were never so great a calm, yet immediately there would arise a most dreadful storm, that would break, wreck, and drown the ship and goods; only the seamen would escape with their lives—­the devil had no permission from God to take them away.  Yet at this rate, by her frequent apparitions and disturbances, she had made a poor merchant of her son, for his fair estate was all buried in the sea, and he that was once worth thousands was reduced to a very poor and low condition in the world; for whether the ship were his own or hired, or he had but goods on board it to the value of twenty shillings, this troublesome ghost would come as before, whistle in a calm at the mainmast at noonday, when they had descried land, and then ship and goods went all out of hand to wreck; insomuch that he could at last get no ships wherein to stow his goods, nor any mariner to sail in them; for knowing what an uncomfortable, fatal, and losing voyage they should make of it, they did all decline his service.  In her son’s house she hath her constant haunts by day and night; but whether he did not, or would not own if he did, see her, he always professed he never saw her.  Sometimes when in bed with his wife, she would cry out, ’Husband, look, there’s your mother!’ And when he would turn to the right side, then was she gone to the left; and when to the left side of the bed, then was she gone to the right; only one evening their only child, a girl of about five or six years old, lying in a ruckle-bed under them, cries out, ’Oh, help me, father! help me, mother! for grandmother will choke me!’ and before they could get to their child’s assistance